The technology company is investing in a new research programme at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute at NUI Galway, which is said to focus on looking into new models and money making opportunities for web-based data.

Supported by the Irish government through IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland, the research will be led by Professor Stefan Decker, director of the institute and one of the leading scientists in the Semantic Web field.

The Professor along with his team of boffins will be looking into how different models and approaches can integrate available data on the net and how these new ideas can be used in a range of different industries.

Professor Decker told the Irish Times that this programme could eventually lead to high-end jobs in Ireland.

Established in 2003 with financial backing from Science Foundation Ireland, the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) – which has Tim Berners-Lee on its advisory board, aims to help people, organisations and systems to collaborate on a global scale using semantic web technologies.

Minister for Job, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said the latest research would lead to more commercial opportunities and jobs for Ireland.